During his visit to India, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled a new programme that aims to equip over 2 million Indians with AI skills. He asserted that this program demonstrates Microsoft's dedication to developing India's workforce of the future and will even encourage the creation of jobs in the nation.

"I'm very excited to announce a new initiative around skilling," Nadella said. We plan to provide over two million Indians with AI skills. The most crucial thing any of us can do, in the end, is to take the workforce and ensure that they have the skills necessary to be able to thrive in the new century. It's not only about the abilities; it's also about the jobs that are generated.

He went on to say that he was motivated by his conversation with the Indian brand Kaarya's team. Microsoft Research was exploited in India by the local business Kaarya to give rural India a source of income. He asserted that they may use AI's opportunities to give rural India well-paying jobs.

What is Karya?

Karya is a social firm that offers rural Indian workers and businesses data services, annotation, technology, and ethical data solutions. Their goal is to give economically disadvantaged Indians access to digital employment.

Karya collaborates with rural Indians to create datasets. They classify, annotate, and label data utilized in Artificial Intelligence training, particularly data intended for the non-English speaking segment of the Indian population. They pay rural Indians twenty times the minimum salary, according to Karya.